Milwaukie, Oregon

Marriage & Family Counseling

Based in Portland, we also serve Milwaukie, Oregon

Courtships are often idyllic. Both parties are on their best behavior and look toward a future together expecting it to be a bed of roses. They often forget that roses have thorns and that no relationship is perfect. When children come along, the additional responsibilities and limits on freedom and independence sometimes take their toll. Challenges arise that may seem insurmountable.

At Family Ties Counseling Center, we are a husband and wife who are both therapists. We have learned through education and personal experience how not only to survive obstacles, but to thrive. We invite you to let us help you learn how to view your challenges as opportunities to grow and change. We provide child & family counseling, marriage and couples counseling and psychotherapy. Our center is located in Portland, allowing us to provide services to those living in Milwaukie, Oregon.

Couples Counseling for those living nearby Milwaukie, Oregon

One of the major problems you and your partner may encounter has to do with communication. If one or both of you is triggered by something the other one says, arguments ensue and hurtful words are exchanged. This begins to affect other areas of your life and interfere with your ability to have fun together and parent together. It also negatively interferes with your enjoyment of your sex life.

Couples counseling, marriage counseling or relationship counseling helps you learn how to trust each other and listen with awareness. We provide a safe place where both partners can learn to achieve a balance in the relationship and learn what triggers the other person’s negative responses. Once you learn what these triggers are, you can begin to understand each other better and make the connections you desire.

Here are just a few ways that couples counseling can help you:

Focus on constructive communication that will help you connect with each other.

Learn to understand the real issues and stop having the same arguments over again.

Learn to enjoy each other’s company once again in ways that are better even than in your courtship days.

Feel relaxed with each other in a way that fosters intimacy.

Improve your sexual connection.

Provide support for life transitions or challenging circumstances such as infidelity, divorce, death or even retirement.

We will help you interrupt and stop the cycles that often occur in relationships such as anger, argument, fighting, blame and criticism. Instead, we help you learn how to share your feelings in a way that allows you to develop a trusting and intimate relationship.

Child & family counseling for those living in Milwaukie, Oregon

There are times when families find themselves challenged with issues that affect all family members. This occurs most often in blended families or families where one member is disabled or has special needs. If a family member is suffering from addiction or mental health issues, each family member is impacted. Sometimes, a life-changing event puts the family in crisis, like a sudden accident or death.

We can help you and your family members understand each other better and relate to each other in positive ways.

Some indications that you can benefit from child & family counseling include, but are not limited to, the following:

Your child does something that incites your rage and you say things you never thought you would say. Afterward, you feel overwhelming guilt.

You feel very close to one child and the two of you connect without incident. That is not the case with your other children, with whom your relationship is like oil and water. You want to feel close to all of your children.

You have remarried and you both thought your children would mesh and you would all live happily ever after. Now there is dissension in the family and you are taking sides with your children against your partner and your partner’s children.

You have decided to divorce and you want to make the separation amicable and to be the least detrimental as possible for your children.

There are times when only one partner thinks there are problems in the marriage or with the family dynamics. The other partner resists any relationship counseling. We work to help both partners learn to express their feelings and learn communication skills that can benefit the marriage.

Our goal is to help you restore your relationship to one that is nourishing and giving. We encourage you to be truthful in your attempt to improve your relationship. Acknowledgement that no one is perfect and that there is no perfect relationship is one step in being able to cultivate love and respect and to create positive and fulfilling relationships.